welcome and enjoy!

Hi and welcome to my blog about comics from other people’s childhood! It is dedicated primarily to British humour comics of the 60s and 70s. The reason they are not from my childhood is simply because I didn’t live in the UK back then (nor do I live there now). I knew next to nothing about them until fairly recently but since then I’ve developed a strong liking for the medium and amassed a large collection, including a number of complete or near complete sets. My intention is to use this blog as a channel for sharing my humble knowledge about different titles, favourite characters and creators as I slowly research my collection.

QUICK TIP: this blog is a sequence of posts covering one particular comic at a time. The sequence follows a certain logic, so for maximum results it is recommended that the blog is read from the oldest post up.

Copyright of all images and quotations used here is with their respective owners. Any such copyrighted material is used exclusively for educational purposes and will be removed at first notice. All other text copyright Irmantas P.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Those of you who followed my COR!! series on this blog last year
may remember that it didn’t include a review of COR!! 1978 Holiday Special for
the simple reason that I didn’t have a copy to review.

Well, I have recently
won a copy on eBay and my collection of COR!! is now as complete as it can ever
be (except that I have only one of the four free gifts that were offered with
the paper during its lifetime). When writing the series I deliberately reserved
a slot for the Special and have now updated it with full details and a review.
You can read it HERE.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

The purpose of this post is to get the last things out
of the way so that I can close this series dedicated to COR!! comic and move
forward :)

Smartie Artie is the
last remaining strip whose appearances were limited to COR!! annuals. It can be
found in 1982 and 1984 COR!! Comic Annuals, two episodes in each. Smartie Artie was a version of Artful Artie from COR!! 1983 Holiday
Special. Both strips were illustrated by the same artist, the stories were very
simple and so was the art.

Professor Corn’s Daft Dictionary Definitions feature was mentioned briefly in one of my early COR!! posts
(1974: A look at the last months of COR!!). I will add that the feature began in COR!! issue with the cover date of 6th October,
1973 (No. 175) and appeared regularly
until the last issue of the weekly. Here is a sample from the issue dated 26th January,
1974 (No. 191):

Some of the reprints that ran in COR!! Annuals and Specials also got a
brief mention in the earlier posts. Here are full details of their
various appearances over the years:

Ug and Tug the
Peace Makers wasa Wild West comedy strip drawn by Nadal about
an Indian kid and a settler kid. The stories were reprinted from Buster where the strip enjoyed a short
run in 1965. Ug and Tug reprints
appeared in:

1971 COR!! Summer Special (4 episodes)

1972 COR!! Comic Annual (5 episodes)

1972 COR!! Holiday Special (3 episodes)

1973 COR!! Comic Annual (3 episodes)

1974 COR!! Comic Annual (4 episodes)

Aqua Lad– reprints from the early
issues of Whizzer and Chips where
the strip was illustrated by Terry Bave. Aqua
Lad reprints appeared in:

1974 COR!! Holiday Special (3 episodes)

1975 COR!! Comic Annual (3 episodes)

1975 COR!! Holiday Special (1 episode)

1976 COR!! Comic Annual (4 episodes)

Give A Dog a
Bone – reprints from the early issues of
Whizzer and Chips where the strip
was illustrated by Graham Allen. The reprints appeared in:

1974 COR! Holiday Special (4 episodes)

1975 COR!! Comic Annual (2 episodes)

1976 COR!! Comic Annual (4 episodes)

1977 COR!! Comic Annual (6 episodes, one in full colour)

The Spectacular
Adventures of Willie Bunk – reprints from
the early issues of Whizzer and Chips
where the strip was illustrated by the universal Frank McDiarmid. The reprints appeared
in:

1974 COR!! Holiday Special (1 episode)

1975 COR!! Comic Annual (4 episodes)

Patch-Eye Hooker
– reprints from BUSTER. Ray Moore’s
BUSTER index says the story landed in Buster
after it absorbed the short-lived GIGGLE comic in 1968. Artist unknown. Reprints of the strip
appeared in:

1978 COR!! Comic Annual (2 episodes)

1979 COR!! Comic Annual

1979 COR!! Holiday Special (2 episodes)

1980 COR!! Comic Annual

The last remaining thing is to take a look at COR!! Books of Gags (two were published) which I hope to do very soon

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Young MacDonald and His Farm was a series that appeared in COR!! Holiday Specials and Annuals
in the period 1973 – 1986 (with a few breaks in the early years).

The Editor was undecided as to which word of the title (if any)
he wanted inside inverted commas...

Andy “Young” MacDonald lived on a remote farm in the highlands of
Scotland with his Grandfather, Andy “Old” MacDonald. Andy’s job was to help the
old man run the farm but his real passion was inventing machines and building life-size mechanical models of various animals which he could control with a
complex control box. The boy had a workshop in a vast cave that he kept secret
from his Grandpa because the old man saw no good in machines and would not have
anything mechanical on his land. He always looked down on Andy’s hobby and
inventions. Young MacDonald’s original intent was to use his mechanical creations
for different jobs on the farm but they also came handy in repelling and
capturing sheep-rustlers, kidnappers and other evil-doers whenever they chose
to trespass or do their dirty deeds on or around Old MacDonald’s land.

The idea of the story certainly wasn’t new – British
comics have seen many characters who could control mechanical creatures. As a character, Andy is somewhat dull. In my opinion the most memorable and
vivid figure in the series is that of the kilt-wearing Old MacDonald who speaks
with a mild Scottish accent, uses the swear-word “Christopher Columbus” and is
very consistent in his dislike for mechanical gadgets.

Ron Turner illustrated a number of instalments as indicated in the
detailed account below. One episode was drawn by Les Barton and one was signed
“Parko”. The name of the artist who illustrated the majority of the episodes is
unknown to me. Ron Turner's version is my favourite one.

Here is a detailed account of all episodes:

COR!! Comic Annual 1973, one episode of 8 pages: Young MacDonald uses his mechanical zoo
to persuade the sheep-stealing Hamish McSteeler and Angus McRustle never to set
foot on Old MacDonald’s farm again. The illustrator’s name is unknown to me. Here are the first two pages:

COR!! Holiday Special 1974, one episode of 8 pages. Old MacDonald is determined not to let
the old Lord’s nephew and his fancy paying guests from London hunt, shoot and
fish on his land. Young MacDonald unleashes his mechanical bull on the beaters
and then his bullet-resistant pheasants on the hunters. Finally, he uses a mechanical fish to scare off some trespassers who are fishing on Old
MacDonald’s side of the loch.Still
ignorant of his grandson’s secret farm of mechanical animals, Grandpa is
convinced he has sent the unwanted guests packing with his bare hands… Art by
Ron Turner. Here are the first two pages:

The panels below show Andy's mechanical inventions that appeared later in the episode:

COR!! Comic Annual 1977, one episode of 8 pages. Andy uses his mechanical moles to dig up
spuds when he sees a team of road builders about to knock Old MacDonald’s
farmhouse to build a road. Andy stops them with his mechanical moles but it
takes his giant iron monster to make the local roads committee and police abandon
the idea of building the road across Old MacDonald’s land. Grandpa still believes
it was he who saved the farm. The illustrator’s name is unknown to me. Here is a sample page:

Andy's moles at work:

It remains to be
checked whether Young MacDonald appeared in the 1978 COR!! Holiday Special until
I get hold of a copy. UPDATE: There was no Young MacDonald in the Special.

COR!! Comic Annual 1980, one episode of 7 pages. Robbie the sheepdog is sick so Old
MacDonald takes him to the vet. Andy hopes to use his mechanical colie to bring
the flock in from the fields for winter but the robot gets out of control and
falls under suspicion that it might be responsible for the loss of a few sheep.
Andy goes for a reconnaissance mission on his giant robot eagle and spots two
sheep-rustlers trying to steal more animals. Andy tries to stop them with his
mechanical wild boar but the robot has an accident and the evil men realise it is a trick. The runaway colie saves the day by causing a sheep stampede and
knocking the villains out. This is the first episode in which Grandpa begins to
warm up to Andy’s mechanical inventions. The illustrator’s name is unknown to
me. Here are the last two pages:

COR!! Comic Annual 1981, one episode, 8 pages. Andy fetches his mechanical elephant to
water a crop of peas because Old MacDonald resists mechanical aids on his farm
and refuses to buy a sprinkler. Later the boy uses two of his mechanical
inventions – a rhino and an eagle to rescue Mirabelle Dunwoody from a
kidnapper. Mirabelle’s father insists on rewarding young Andy and the boy
chooses a sprinkler so that he can have more free time to spend in his secret
workshop.The illustrator’s name is
unknown to me. Here is the opening page:

1981 COR!! Holiday Special, one episode, 8 pages, signed by Parko. Andy’s rhino goes out of control, demolishes Old MacDonald’s
shed and causes a chicken-run. Grandpa is very angry and demands that “them
metal beasties have got to go”. The old man expects a spell of nasty weather and
sets out for the town to replenish food supplies. Andy’s mechanical eagle,
elephant and giant robot mole rescue Old MacDonald from under a snowfall. He
admits that Andy’s beasties do come handy “just a wee bit at times” and agrees
to give them another chance. Here is the opening page. Note the artist's signature in the splash panel:

COR!! Comic Annual 1982, one episode, 6 pages. Andy spots two foreign spies who work for
Zurkovia and have just stolen some secret plans from the military base. Andy
tries to drive the scoundrels back with the help of his mechanical wolves and a
stag but the spies are smart enough to realise they are being stalked by
mechanical contraptions so they send out a jamming signal to stop them. The day
is saved by Andy’s new invention - a pair of mechanical beavers who build a dam
on the river and prevent the spies from making their escape by motorboat. The
illustrator’s name is unknown to me. Here are the last two pages:

In the
first episode Andy and his mechanical zoo save the film star Gary Gregson from a cunning kidnapper.
Film director rewards Andy with a big fat check and the MacDonalds can now
afford a holiday. Art by Ron Turner.

Andy's giant gorilla accidentally interferes and ruins a film shoot:

Andy's mechanical monsters closing up on the kidnapper:

In the second episode Andy and his Grandad go on holiday. Andy’s
amazing mechanical bird takes them to the beach where they are captured by a
gang of crooks who are holding the whole population of the town of Seaburg to
ransom. Before getting seized by the villains Old MacDonald accidentally hits an
emergency button on Andy’s remote control and summons the whole pack of
mechanical monsters. The kidnappers are taught a lesson… Art by Ron Turner.

The army of Andy's mechanical monsters on the march to Seaburg:

Gangsters flee in panic:

...but there is no escape for them from
Andy and his farm:

COR!! Comic Annual 1983, one episode, 8 pages. Andy finds himself alone against a gang of
crooks who have hijacked a truck and captured Old MacDonald and constable
McTaggart. To make things worse, the villains get the drift of Andy’s
ability to control the “funny animals” and take away his remote control. Andy
climbs into one of his special models – a life-size giraffe that he can control
from inside and stops the crooks from getting away with the loot. Art by Ron
Turner.

Surprise mole attack:

Last two pages of the episode:

1983 COR!! Holiday Special, one episode, 5 pages. Andy calls up his fantastic bird Goldie so
that it can take him to the village to fetch some medicine for Grandad. Upon
his return the youngster finds some strangers on the farm helping themselves to
the old man’s sheep while he’s asleep. Brave Andy confronts the rustlers but
they tie the boy and the old man up and proceed loading the flock to the lorry.
They also decide they want the metal animal models without realising Andy’s
ability to control them. Andy loosens his bonds and activates the metal
creatures. The rustlers get so terrified that they take shelter in the police van
that has come to take them in. Art by Ron Turner. It's a nice representative episode that has every ingredient of a typical Young MacDonald story, so here it is in its entirety:

COR!! Comic Annual 1984, two episodes. In the first (a 6-pager) Andy encounters a
real flying saucer and helps some friendly space aliens fix the engine of their
craft. He also tricks his Grandad into believing that the object that he saw
flying over the farm was not a flying saucer but Andy’s new remote controlled
hover-mower. Art by Ron Turner.

Andy meets the space aliens:

The episode features some previously unseen exotic additions to
Andy’s zoo, such as a mechanical bat with a built-in radar and a giant octopus:

The second episode (a 5-pager) is a Christmas story. It starts
with another attempt by Andy to persuade Old MacDonald that his mechanical
animals can be useful. Andy introduces his latest invention – a fire-breathing
mechanical dragon that accidentally sets the barn alight. Robot jumbo puts the
fire out but floods half the farmyard. Outraged, Old MacDonald orders Andy to
get rid of all the beasties once and for all. Wandering about with his
mechanical zoo, Andy meets Santa who was due to appear at the store in town but
careered into a snowdrift. Grateful for saving him, Santa invites both
MacDonalds to the party. Andy’s mechanical reindeer are the only transport they can
use to get there in the snowy weather. I’m not quite sure, but I get an
impression that the art is by the same illustrator who drew the episode in the
1981 COR!! Holiday Special and signed Parko. Here is the last page of the episode:

COR!! Comic Annual 1985. One episode, 4 pages. This was another episode with the
Christmas theme. Andy is going to surprise Grandfather by giving him Bruno
Bear, a mechanical farm labourer, a as Christmas present. The young inventor
demonstrates how good Bruno is at shifting snow and buries the old man and his
car under the snow.Old MacDonald drives
off to the station to collect Andy’s uncle Jock who is coming for Christmas but
comes back with a carful of uncle Jock’s nephews instead. The kids fiddle with
Andy’s remote control and cause havoc in the workshop. All ends well when Andy
decides to use his animals for a Christmas Circus. Art by Les Barton. Here is the first page of the episode:

... and here is the last one:

COR!! Comic Annual 1986. Two episodes. In the first (a 6-pager) Andy’s mole ploughs
the field and unearths a mysterious metal box. Old MacDonald believes it is the treasure hidden by his great uncle Angus. In reality though the box
contained jewels and was stolen from the Lord’s mansion weeks ago by a crook
who hid it on Old MacDonald’s farm because the police were after him. The thief
snatches the box and tries to escape by boat but Andy unleashes his mechanical
loch monster and stops him. Art by Ron Turner. Here are the first two pages of the episode:

Here's Andy feeding his rhino:

In the second episode (a 5-pager) that also happens to be the last
one of the series, Andy uses his metal rhinos to clear the road because the
snowplough has broken down. Afterwards he mounts his mechanical eagle and goes
searching for Grandfather who decided to climb Ben Buchan and probably got
himself into trouble because of poor weather conditions. Andy summons Congo,
the giant gorilla, to clear the entrance to the cave blocked by rock fall. Inside,
he finds a girl whom he brings to the farm. The constable tells them they found
Andy’s Grandfather in a snowdrift and that the old man is all right, except
that he sounds a bit delirious and swears he saw a big gorilla walking up in
the mountains… The illustrator’s name is unknown to me. Here is the opening page: